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NATO Nations recently agreed that JANUS is the NATO Standard for digital underwatercommunications. That is the first time ever for a digital underwater communication protocolto be recognised at international level. The protocol opens the way for a standardised Internet of Underwater Things.

Tests of JANUS at sea have been conducted in the last years by CMRE on board the NATO Research Vessel Alliance, and using the innovative CMRE Littoral Ocean Observatory Network (LOON), which facilitates experimentation of marine robots’ mission-base teams by creating a monitoring acoustic network with tripods of underwater communications equipment sitting on the seabed but accessible by users across the world via web.

On the aft deck of the NATO Research Vessel Alliance, sailing for the first CMRE (Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation) scientific campaign of 2017, there are two very similar robots. One is the MUSCLE vehicle, a very reliable prototype developed by CMRE for seabed mapping with automatic behaviour capabilities. The other is not just a twin: it is a recently engineered underwater robot aimed at testing target (typically simulated naval mines on the seafloor) reacquisition missions.

This vehicle is called CAT, aka Black CAT, which stands for Collaborative Autonomy Testbed. It debuts during the current sea trial GAMEX ‘17, the Greek ARIADNE Mine countermeasure EXperiment 2017, conducted on board NRV Alliance from 28 March to 7 April 2017 in the Gulf of Patras (Greece) and linked to the Greek-led exercise ARIADNE ongoing in the same period.

Following the success of euRathlon 2015, the European Robotics League has entrusted the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), based in La Spezia (Italy), with the organization of the 2017 event devoted to the field of robots as a first response in emergency situations. Dates and venue of the competition were announced on 22 February during a press conference held by CMRE and Municipality.

ERL Emergency Robots is a civilian, outdoor robotics competition with a focus on realistic, multi-domain emergency response scenarios. For 9 days international teams of university students and industry experts will test their robots’ abilities to tackle more and more complex real-world situations in front of an international jury. For the first time robots will be also required to release autonomously emergency kits to simulate missing workers. Innovative solutions and remarkable levels of autonomy will be rewarded.

The European Robotics League is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research, under the RockEU2 project grant agreement n.688441.

Back from the French-led exercise Olives Noires 2016 , the NATO Research Vessel Alliance is now in the Ligurian Sea to continue scientific tests of new robotic solutions for naval mine countermeasures as part of the Multinational AutoNomous Experiment 2016 (MANEX ‘16).

TECHNOLOGIES WERE PRESENTED TO THE PRESS DURING A MEDIA DAY AT SEA OFF THE COAST OF FRAMURA (LA SPEZIA, ITALY) -

From 15 to 28 September 2016, the NATO Research Vessel Alliance, operated by the Italian Navy for the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) based in La Spezia (Italy), is taking part for the first time in exercise Olives Noires 2016 in the Mediterranean sea, off the French coast. Olives Noires 2016 (ON16) is a live exercise involving NATO, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Slovenian naval units. The aimof the exercise is to enhance operational readiness levels and multinational cooperation training between NATO and French maritime forces in tactics and procedures in the littoral environment.

The primary purpose of the CMRE experiment in Olives Noires 2016 is to test solutions and advance methods for using robotics in mine countermeasures (MCM).

From 5 to 31 July 2016, off the coast of Portugal, the Portuguese Navy, the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation and the University of Porto operate again together in the maritime exercise which also marks the first international at-sea campaign for NRV Alliance under the Italian Flag.

The REP16-Atlantic features and objectives have been presented on 18 July in Lisbon (Portugal), in the presence of Rear Admiral Matthew A. Zirkle (U.S. Navy), Deputy Chief of Staff Submarines – COMSUBNATO, and Portuguese authorities.

Data was collected by gliders during the LOGMEC environmental campaign, which also marked the longest CMRE gliders’ deployment ever in Italian waters (from 1 May to 30 June 2016).

Data from gliders operating during LOGMEC were also integrated for the first time in near real-time in NATO and national command and control (C2) systems at the Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination, eXercise (CWIX).

The larger of CMRE’s ships is now operated by an Italian military crew under an Italian Navy Flag.

On 9 April 2016, at the Italian Naval Base in La Spezia (Italy), the Raising of the Italian Flag Ceremony was held in the presence of Italian and NATO civilian and military authorities, including Vice Admiral Ignacio J. Horcada Rubio, SACT Representative in Europe, Vice Admiral Filippo Maria Foffi, Commander in Chief of the Italian Naval Fleet, Major General Albert Husniaux, NATO STO (Science and Technology Organization) Chief Scientist, and Rear Admiral (Ret.) Hank Ort, STO CMRE Director.

NOAA Vice Admiral Michael S. Devany, Deputy Under Secretary for Operations at NOAA, and Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Hank Ort, CMRE Director, signed a five-year framework agreement to facilitate research vessel support from NRV Alliance in particular, with monitoring of meteorological, hydrological, and oceanographic processes, bathymetry, and climate. The collaboration marks a breakthrough in transatlantic cooperation while fostering sharing of assets and capabilities in the North Atlantic.

The NATO Research Vessel Alliance visited Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the first time and presented to the press the ALOMEx ‘15 (Atlantic Lidar Optical Measurements Experiment 2015 ) trial conducted from 31 October to 12 November 2015 in the Alboran Sea and in the Sahara Upwelling area.

The event, funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), has been presented in Florence by regional and local authorities. The euRathlon consortium has entrusted the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation the local organisation of the competition.euRathlon ‘15 will also include several world-class side events at Tor del Sale and in Piombino, downtown. On 23 September, at Tor del Sale, two humanoid robots, WALK-MAN and DRC-HUBO, who recently participated in the DARPA Robotics Challenge in Los Angeles (USA), for example will give a demonstration in disaster response scenarios for the first time in Europe.

The oceanographic campaign GLISTEN ‘15, starting off Elba Island (Italy) at the end of August 2015, will test new sensors and solutions for ocean characterisation using underwater gliders.Scientists from the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation will operate on board the NATO Research Vessel Alliance along with researchers from nine collaborating institutions.

On 9-10 July 2015, at the Portuguese Navy Base of Alfeite (Almada) in Lisbon, 24 Project Partners from 9 countries demonstrated the ICARUS (Integrated Components for Assisted Rescue and Unmanned Search Operations) system, as final step of the ICARUS European project (http://www.fp7-icarus.eu/) funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP7).

CMRE played a crucial role in developing the maritime component of the ICARUS European project, including enhanced autonomy and integration between Unmanned Surface Vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The Centre provided innovative concepts in the field of unmanned passive monitoring as part of the PERSEUS (Protection of European BoRders and Seas through the IntElligent Use of Surveillance) FP7 European project.

CMRE has been the first to demonstrate a complete system for underwater acoustic surveillance with highly persistent mobile robots. In the future, these systems could be used within a network to continuously monitor maritime areas of interest.

From 9 to 25 June 2015, NATO STO CMRE (Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation) scientists and engineers are at the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) in Bydgoszcz (Poland) to take part in the annual NATO-led Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination, eXercise (CWIX) for the third time in a row. This year CWIX hosts participants from 15 NATO and 4 Partnership for Peace (PfP) Nations working on system interoperability before operational use to improve the effectiveness of the Alliance.

The two entities located in La Spezia will carry out joint innovation activities and research in the maritime environment. In particular, opportunities will be developed for cooperation in issues of common interest such as robotics, underwater acoustics, underwater systems, and more generally in systems engineering and ICT (information and communication technologies).

After signing the agreement, for the first time Ole Hastrup awards were given to the best thesis in 2014 in the Mechanical Engineering and Yacht Design courses. Ole Hastrup, a former Danish scientist at the NATO Centre, recently deceased, is considered one of the world's leading experts in the field of underwater acoustics and physics. Scientific documentation donated by Mrs Hastrup will be housed in the new Promostudi teachers-researchers hall, inaugurated on this occasion.

The euRathlon consortium has entrusted the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), based in La Spezia (Italy), the organization of the 2015 event.Dates and venue of the competition were announced on 21 January during a press conference by CMRE, Municipality and ENEL representatives.

“As part of the euRathlon consortium, we are proud to organize the final event of the Project” says Jean-Guy Fontaine, scientist at CMRE. “We will take to Piombino our expertise in organizing world-class competitions, such as the SAUC-Europe, the challenge between student-built unmanned underwater vehicles held annually at our Centre.”

The NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation played a crucial role in enhancing autonomy and integration between Autonomous Surface Vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as part of the ICARUS (Integrated Components for Assisted Rescue and Unmanned Search operations) project, funded by the European Commission.

From 21 to 23 October the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) hosted a Workshop where the first results of the REP14-MED scientific campaign conducted in June 2014 in the Sardinian Sea were presented. From 7 to 9 October the Centre hosted as well the 2nd CMRE Workshop on Military Applications of Glider Technology.

In September 2014, the CMRE Glider team received a NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) Scientific Achievement Award for the high level of the science and technology demonstrated.

CMRE is being recognized as one of the world leader in the development and demonstration of robotic platforms, such as Autonomous Underwater Vehicles like gliders, used for the characterization and forecasting of the underwater environment.